Path through a bamboo thicket. (Photo by R. Butler)
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Role of Developing Nations in Rainforest Conservation
Increasingly, developing nations are adopting environmental plans both to look good in the eyes of international
financing organizations, and in finally realizing the adverse affects of deforestation for their own economies
and peoples. In 1996, Mexico announced its first national environmental program aimed at saving the last remaining
10 percent of its forests. Other countries have initiated such projects, but still a fair number are quite ecologically
backwards. Malaysia, which claims to have the best conservation program in Southeast Asia, recently appealed a
high-court decision that tried to hold up construction of a huge hydroelectric project in Bakuin, Sarawak (Bornean
Malaysia). The court decided that the dam construction company, Ekran, must comply with regulations established
by Malaysia's Environmental Quality Act of 1974—which holds that Malaysian citizens have the right to examine
and comment upon environmental studies before construction. The Malaysian government appealed this decision to
Malaysia's Court of Appeals so the hydroelectric project could proceed as quickly as possible.
A lack of judicial independence is frequently cited as a major concern for investors in developing countries. When
the executive branch or the military has virtual control over the judicial system, constitutional laws can become
meaningless and basic rights may be ignored. Laws are not meant to be flagrantly violated by politicians and
their associates at the expense of the people, the environment, and less well-connected business interests.
Developing governments have several ways they can better protect their forest environments for the future. Eliminating
subsidies for activities that promote forest clearing and largely benefit wealthy private interests would probably
have the widest-ranging effect on curbing deforestation in the tropics. For example, ending subsidies for sawmills,
road construction, massive colonization schemes, and expansive agricultural projects would dramatically slow deforestation.
Such large subsidies create a false image of profitability to industries that benefit from exploitation and undervalue
the worth of timber supplies and intact ecosystems. Rarely do these firms realize the full costs, whether they
be environmental, social, or financial. Leaders of these firms are a formidable roadblock to forest policy reform,
since they are generally politically favored. Developing governments could significantly reduce deforestation by changing
land-title procedures so deforestation is not favored over the maintenance of productive forest. Instead of giving
tax breaks and subsidies to large-scale forest clearers, governments could levy a deforestation tax that would
increase government revenues while reducing environmental degradation. Such a plan of action would have a tremendous
impact in countries like Brazil and Malaysia where large plantation owners and cattle ranchers are responsible
for substantial forest loss.
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Corruption
Corruption and illegal operations are quite costly for governments. The World Bank estimates that illegal logging alone costs developing countries some $15 billion a year in lost tax revenues.
Rooting out corruption and implementing the rule of law are key to conservation efforts as well as the general business environment in developing countries. Corrupt officials in forestry departments and other branches of law enforcement can easily undermine conservation efforts by granting parkland to unscrupulous developers and overlooking violations of environmental laws and safeguards.
Transparency in economic transactions and processes is key to reducing corruption in developing economies. Small steps such as publishing bids for contracts, clarifying ownership and the transfer of ownership, posting laws to allow citizens to better understand the economic and legal processes, and creating a forum for airing complaints can do a lot for building a fairer and less corrupt society.
Nine out of the world's ten most corrupt countries in 2005 were tropical developing countries. The list from Transparency International: (most corrupt) Bangladesh, Chad, Haiti, Myanmar, Turkmenistan, Côte d'Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, Angola, and Democratic Republic of the Congo (tenth most corrupt).
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Currently, few fines are collected and those that are collected get "lost" before the forest ministry
ever sees them. Salaries are so low in some countries that bribes are widely accepted by forestry officials. Governments can also increase the effectiveness of forestry patrols by offering performance incentives to officials and returning proceeds from fines and seized goods to the forestry departments.
There are serious conflicts of interest within government departments in many developing countries. Environmental
officials often lack coordination with officials from other departments like mines, forestry, and agriculture,
which hand out permits for forest clearing and logging without consideration for the ecological effects. What is
needed is an integrated policy approach to overcome the inefficiencies and failures of overlapping jurisdictions.
Frequently, a well-placed bribe can get a plantation owner or timber baron a large tract of supposedly protected
forest. Other developers take a different approach: acquiring political ties. The economic circle of the elite in Indonesia
was notorious for its ties to former president Suharto, who allowed reforestation funds to be allocated for all
types of projects completely unrelated to forest preservation and reforestation.
Combatting Amazonian Forest Fires
Developed countries are tired of the rhetoric from wealthy developed
countries urging them to preserve forests but not coughing up the cash to turn words into action. They argue that
if these forests provide important global benefits then the entire world should contribute to their preservation.
Besides, they say, wealthy countries have already destroyed most of their own forests.
Review questions:
- How do subsidies drive deforestation?
- Why is corruption bad for conservation?
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CONTENTS
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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
INTERACT
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Recent news
Tropical ecologist: Australia must follow U.S. and EU in banning illegally logged wood
(02/09/2012) Australia should join the widening effort to stamp out illegal logging, according to testimony given this week by tropical ecologist William Laurance with James Cook University. Presenting before the Australian Senate's rural affairs committee, Laurance argued that the massive environmental and economic costs of illegal logging worldwide should press Australia to tighten regulations against importing illegally logged timber at home.
Majority of protected tropical forests "empty" due to hunting
(02/08/2012) Protected areas in the world's tropical rainforests are absolutely essential, but one cannot simply set up a new refuge and believe the work is done, according to a new paper in Bioscience. Unsustainable hunting and poaching is decimating tropical forest species in the Amazon, the Congo, Southeast Asia, and Oceana, leaving behind "empty forests," places largely devoid of any mammal, bird, or reptile over a few pounds. The loss of such species impacts the whole ecosystems, as plants lose seed dispersers and the food chain is unraveled.
New rainforest and indigenous reserve established in Peru
(02/07/2012) On February 4th, the Peruvian government and a small indigenous group created a new Amazon reserve, dubbed the Maijuna Reserve. Located in northeastern Peru, the 390,000 hectare (970,000 acres) reserve is larger than California's Yosemite National Park and over three times the size of Hong Kong.
Guyanese tribe maps Connecticut-sized rainforest for land rights
(02/07/2012) In a bid to gain legal recognition of their land, the indigenous Wapichan people have digitally mapped their customary rainforest land in Guyana over the past ten years. Covering 1.4 million hectares, about the size of Connecticut, the rainforest would be split between sustainable-use regions, sacred areas, and wildlife conservation according to a plan by the Wapichan tribe that will be released today. The plan says the tribe would preserve the forest from extractive industries.
Supernatural beliefs keep hunting sustainable on Indonesian island
(02/02/2012) How do indigenous communities hunt without pushing target species to local extinction? In other words, how have communities retained sustainable practices over countless generations. One answer is given in a new study by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR) and the Center for International Research in Agronomy and Development (CIRAD): supernatural beliefs. Looking at a community of indigenous people on the Indonesian island of Seram, researchers found that supernatural hunting beliefs ensured animals never vanished for good.
More news on rainforest conservation
More rainforest news
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